From $0 to . . . . Infinite At least in frigid Minnesota, an in-ground pool can be a waste of a perfectly good backyard 8-9 months of the year. Unless, of course, the backyard happens to sit on a third or half-acre, in which case there’s plenty of room left over for swingsets, playing...Read More
Projected Selling Price: $171,400 Actual Selling Price: $155,000 In a post more than 4(!) years ago titled, “Tear-Down Economics: From Worst to First, or Housing ‘Leapfrog,” I posited a three-step test for determining how much the land underneath a given home was worth. In other words, how much the home would sell for as a tear-down....Read More
Multiple Offer Multiple Choice This (admittedly nondescript) brick cottage in St. Louis Park’s Fern Hill neighborhood came on the market June 1 at a list price of $90,000, and was switched to “Pending” 10 days later. The transaction closed August 13 (and was just posted on MLS this morning). What was the sales price? A....Read More
Free by Christmas? Back in the beginning of the Summer, I discussed a Highland Park (St. Paul) home with a particularly tortured price history: May 4: listed at $699,900 May 10: reduced to $674,900 May 15: reduced to $649,900 May 18: reduced to $624,900 May 21: reduced to $599,900 May 29: reduced to $574,900 June 1:...Read More
City Inspections vs. Buyer Home Inspections “Needs extensive rehab or possible teardown. Not a bank-owned home. Very fast response to offers. Minimal T-I-H required repairs.” –MLS listing How can something be a possible tear-down, and yet have “minimal Truth-in-Housing (TIH) required repairs?” Isn’t that an oxymoron? Nope. As I tell my Buyer clients, the scope...Read More
Strategic Use of Showing Feedback Forms It can be a conundrum for both Buyers’ agents and listing agents (representing Sellers): a new-to-market property in a hot neighborhood looks like it’s going to sell quickly, and everyone wants to know what’s going on. Without overplaying their hand. As a listing agent, it’s presumptuous to call an...Read More
